RIDES
The Great Northwest Midway was publicized as a state-of-the-art amusement park, although that wasn't true. The 21 rides were brought in virtually at the last minute and when some organizers saw them, they were disappointed. Although the ride owner was lambasted for high prices (70 cents per ride!) and the amusement area had a reputation as the drug-dealing center of Expo, the Midway was very popular with fairgoers.

Artist's conception of the Great Northwest Midway from the official Expo '74 guidebook (colors added).

The Jet Star II roller coastermade in Germany at a cost of $500,000 was the star attraction. Eight cars covered 2,000 feet of track at up to 55 miles-per-hour. The other must-ride was a $300,000 Ferris wheel made in Italy, with cars that could revolve 360 degrees. The Trabant, Roundup, Flight to Mars, Matterhorn and Apollo 11 rounded out the list of popular rides.

After the fair, all the rides were supposedly shipped to Tel Aviv, but the Jet Star II is still in service at the Lagoon amusement park in Farmington, Utah.

SKY RIDES
Visitors to the Spokane Falls Experience left from a base between the General Motors Pavilion and the Energy Pavilion and went on a eight-minute narrated ride over the steepest part of the falls. The A & W Sky Float began south of the Washington State Pavilion and took riders directly over the fairgrounds, ending up between the Iranian Pavilion and the Food Fair.

FOOD
At the Food Fair, hungry visitors chose from the foods of 16 countries. Seven regular restaurants scattered throughout the fair featured cuisine from France, Russia, the Philippines, Japan, India, China, Belgium and Denmark, plus the usual hamburgers and hot dogs.

SOUVENIRS
There were over 900 Expo '74-related items for sale at the fair's 12 souvenir stands, including medals, jewelry, flight bags, stationery, ashtrays, spoons, balloons, books and even one-ounce silver bars with the Expo logo. The International Bazaar had 16 more shops with goods from around the world.